


north, south, east, west, anywhere i choose is best

by AstrologicalGem



Category: Snowpiercer (TV 2020)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Infidelity, Post-Canon, Traveling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:48:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29345382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstrologicalGem/pseuds/AstrologicalGem
Summary: Two times Melanie travels, and both times she comes back.
Relationships: Melanie Cavill & Andre Layton, Melanie Cavill & Wilford, Melanie Cavill/Bennett Knox, Miss Audrey & Wilford
Kudos: 18





	north, south, east, west, anywhere i choose is best

When Bennett knocks on the door of Melanie's room one evening, he's surprised at what he finds. Melanie's sitting on the floor, packing a suitcase.

"What're you doing?" He sits down across from her, looking over the top of the suitcase.

"What does it look like?" She tilts her head, and then goes back to packing.

"It looks like you're finally divorcing that asshole and getting the hell out of dodge." He raises an eyebrow. "Are you?"

Melanie scoffs. "God, I wish."

"Then where're you going, Mel?" 

She sets down the shirt she's folding, and goes over to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Europe."

"What?" He pushes her head off of his shoulder. "Europe."

"Yep. For a month. Apparently there's someone he wants me to meet for...something that I honestly don't remember. He emailed me it, whatever it was." 

"He can't just send you off like that, Mel, we're weeks away from a test run." He looks over at her, concern in his eyes. 

"He can do what he wants, and I agreed to it. I'm not getting into a fight over it, we all know what happened the last time..." She takes a breath. "It's just a month. Alex is with her grandparents, it'll...it'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" 

Mel smiles softly. "Sure." She picks the shirt back up, and continues packing. "It won't be that long. I've been away from home longer." 

\---

A month later, Melanie comes back. Kevin picks her up at the airport, and the first one to hug her is Bennett. Then Javi, to avoid suspicion. Wilford does too, he makes a big show of it, almost as if he wasn't the reason she left in the first place. 

Later that night, in the quiet of Bennett's apartment, he holds her close, playing with her hair and whispering sweet nothings into her ear. The whole scope of the world is the two of them in his bed, and Melanie thinks she could get used to that. Just the two of them, and all of the freedom they could want in the safety of his bed. 

"We have time, yeah?" He mumbles, pressing kisses to her neck.

"Mhm...he's out with Audrey, he won't be back 'till morning." 

"All the time in the world." He kisses her softly, and she kisses back, wrapping her arms around him. 

\---

"She left once." Ben says, one morning. It's him, and Javi, and Layton, all up in the Engine, waiting for communication from Big Alice. It's the daily morning communication, they had set it up.

"Oh?" Layton sets down the map, and looks up. "And where'd she go? Assuming we're talking about the same person."

"Europe. Wilford sent her, she was supposed to pick up some parts from...somewhere. She left for a month, we didn't hear from her that whole time. But she came back. She always does," he trails off, staring off into the distance.

"I remember that, she didn't talk about it after she returned. But she did have the parts we needed," Javi turns back to his computer.

"Good morning, engineers of Snowpiercer," Wilford's voice comes over the speaker, and Ben sighs. 

\---

It's a month later when they see Melanie again. Snow covers her, and the first thing they do is bring her to the Headwoods and Pelton. The doctors of the trains, now, united to help. They have the data, though, and that's what matters. Bennett and Javi alternate sitting by her bedside until she wakes up; when she does, it's practically an hour before people will leave her alone.

Ben and Layton sit by her side, though, Ben holding one of her hands.

"So," Layton starts, looking at Mel, "What was it like outside?"

Mel laughs, and then coughs, taking in a breath. "Cold. Really fucking cold."

"Yeah, that's kinda what I expected..." Layton chuckles. 

"I didn't like being alone...not like I thought I would. I mean, I don't like being alone already, but that was...really alone. Worse than before..." 

"I know, Mel..." Ben rubs his thumb over the back of her hand. 

"But I'm happy to be back." She smiles. 

Melanie's first night back in the Engine is spent with Bennett, his arms wrapped around her. She thinks that maybe, just maybe. she isn't as lonely as she used to be. 

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Marianne Faithfull "Love More Or Less", might write a follow up to this. Come yell at me @onetrainsnowpiercer


End file.
